A Florida man missed his daughter’s birth after police wrongfully arrested him in a case of mistaken identity. Samuel Vasquez, 29, was detained Sept. 12 in Duval County and faced charges including assault, burglary, criminal mischief, grand theft, and cruelty to animals, according to Fox 35 Orlando. Vasquez, who has no criminal history, spent two weeks in jail, causing him to miss the birth of his second daughter. The mistake was due to a one-letter difference with actual suspect Samuel Vazquez, 41, who is accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her dog. The two bear no similarities in age, height, birthday, weight or appearance. Charges were only dropped after his attorneys were able to prove that deputies had arrested the wrong person. Attorney Rajan Joshi told Fox 35 that “in 25 years, I’ve never seen a more sloppy investigation than this – ever!” The attorneys contacted the suspect’s ex-girlfriend to show Vasquez’s mugshot. “I show her…the mugshot of my client – and she tells me, I’ve never seen that man before,” said attorney Jonathan Vega. The Daily Beast has reached out to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for comment.
President Donald Trump’s administration has prosecuted the fewest drug offenders in decades, amid his crackdown on immigration. Insiders at the DOJ and law enforcement agencies have grumbled that investigations into criminal networks have stalled in lieu of sending agents on highly publicized deportation raids. There was a 10 percent drop in charges in the year-to-date in September, down by 1,200 cases, putting it at the lowest rate since the turn of the millennium. Meanwhile, there was a 24 percent drop in more serious drug-related prosecutions, such as money laundering and conspiracy. These types of charges are typically associated with dismantling large-scale criminal drug networks. Reuters analyzed 2 million federal court documents and spoke with 15 individuals, including both current and former law enforcement officers. One such anonymous Justice Department official said, “We’re seeing a reduced amount of time on long-term investigations so agents can go out in their raid gear and be seen supporting immigration raids.” A second former official, who oversaw part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s pivot to immigration enforcement, said, “You cannot conduct thorough, multi-agency drug investigations if you’re running around doing this other stuff.” The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
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The creator of AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood has been forced to defend their creation after a furious online backlash. “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art,” actress and comedian Eline Van der Velden wrote after reports that talent agencies were looking to sign the character. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,” said Van der Velden, the founder of AI talent studio Xicoia. She said AI was a new tool in the vein of animation, puppetry, or CGI, and was not intended to replace live acting. “I’m an actor myself, and nothing, certainly not an AI character, can take away the craft or joy of human performance,” she added. Van der Velden debuted the Norwood character earlier this year, prompting interest from talent scouts and fury from fellow actors, who refused to work with AI-generated ‘actors’ and proposed a boycott of studios looking to use them. “AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits,” wrote Van der Velden.
Actress Zoey Deutch is set to marry fellow actor Jimmy Tatro after revealing they had been secretly engaged for at least three months. The Set It Up star, 30, announced the news to her fans via a joint Instagram post on Saturday, September 28, featuring a carousel of images, including a close-up of her sparkling engagement ring and romantic Polaroid photos capturing the intimate proposal moment. The snapshots showed Tatro, 33, on one knee and the couple’s joyful celebration after she accepted. “Three months engaged to the love of my life,” Deutch wrote in the caption. The announcement was quickly met with an outpouring of congratulations from their famous friends and colleagues. Well-wishers included Riverdale star Lili Reinhart, who commented, “Congratulations, beautiful angel!!” as well as Olivia Munn, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Camila Mendes, and Vanessa Hudgens, among many others. Deutch and Tatro, who is best known for his role in American Vandal, went public with their relationship on Instagram in November 2021. Since then, they have frequently shared glimpses of their life together, including photos from their travels around the world and a tropical vacation in which they were snapped kissing and swimming in the ocean together. Deutch is the daughter of Back to the Future actress Lea Thompson and director Howard Deutch.
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A TUI flight from Wales to Cyprus was forced to make an emergency landing moments after takeoff when a bird flew into the aircraft. Passengers on board the flight from Cardiff Airport said they felt a vibration during takeoff, followed by a “burning smell,” which was initially thought to be engine failure. “There was a feeling something had gone wrong but no explanation given, so for a lot of people that was the most scary part,” passenger Dave Preece told the BBC. The pilot then informed fliers that the aircraft would need to make an emergency landing, and circled around to the nearby Birmingham Airport in the West Midlands, where four fire engines were waiting for the flight as it landed. Passengers were then safely disembarked and shuttled away from the plane. A TUI spokesperson said: “To confirm, there was no engine failure. There was a bird strike after take-off and the diversion that followed was a precautionary routine procedure.” An airport spokesman said “Birmingham Airport accepted an inbound TUI divert. “In line with normal procedures, the airport’s Fire Service met the aircraft on arrival. The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the apron.” Nobody was harmed during the incident.
A CBS Chicago reporter has claimed that an ICE agent fired a pepper ball at her truck outside a detention facility, prompting a criminal investigation by local police. Asal Rezaei reported the incident in Broadview, Illinois, on Sunday morning, saying there were no protests and no crowd activity at the time. In a police report, she said she was driving toward the facility’s 25th Avenue entrance with her window down when a masked agent inside the fence shot a pepper ball that struck her driver’s side panel. The impact released chemical agents into her vehicle. Rezaei said the powder burned her face and caused her to vomit after she exited her truck. “At this moment it’s not really clear why that officer took a shot at me. My car has been here several times, although I did not identify myself verbally as a member of the press,” she said in her coverage of the incident. “There were no protests going on. There was actually nobody there except one other person that was a member of a fire department.” Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills confirmed the investigation, calling it “an allegedly unprovoked attack” and pledged to seek cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security. Rezaei declined medical attention. DHS has been contacted for a response.
A rock climber recovering in hospital after being struck on the head by a “microwave-sized” boulder has credited his helmet with saving his life. Cody Boehm fell more than 50ft while scaling a climbing rock at Confluence Crag near Montana when the huge boulder was accidentally knocked loose by a friend and barreled into him. Boehm plummeted to the ground, breaking his collarbone, collapsing his lung, and breaking seven ribs upon hitting the floor. The experienced climber was also left with a large laceration on his back where the rock had sliced him after hitting his head. “I definitely knew my right side was broke,” Boehm told local news. “I was feeling like I wasn’t going to make it. There was a point there where I was like, this is bad.” Boehm was kept conscious by his friends, who rushed him to the hospital. Medics told him his injuries could have been “life-threatening” had he not been wearing a helmet on the climb. “Your helmet will save your life no matter what,” Boehm told KTVQ whilst recovering in the hospital. “That’s what saved my life. It hit me in the head. If I didn’t have my helmet on, I wouldn’t be here.”
The White Lotus star Walton Goggins has given a characteristically breezy response to claims by comedian Pete Davidson that fans will “turn” on him. Goggins said he wanted to squeeze as much joy out of his meteoric rise to fame as possible after Davidson, 31, claimed fans “build everybody up and now it’s so fast to turn.” Goggins responded on Instagram to a Hollywood Reporter story covering Davidson’s words. “If this headline is a possibility or an inevitability… if this is my fate… Well… f— it. I’m going to enjoy the F— OUT OF IT.” He said it was a “blessing” to be in the conversation at all, adding it is “Way more than a poor kid from GA. would ever have the audacity to imagine… So… If saying yes in life more than saying no is a crime, then I’m guilty as charged.” Davidson also looked at Goggins’ close friend, Pedro Pascal, whose dense work schedule has led to cries of oversaturation among some fans. “He’s worked so hard and has been a struggling actor, [then] f—ing blows up so f—ing hard,” Davidson said, “’cause he’s hot and big and everyone’s like, ”Go the f— away, dude.”” Goggins had a typical response for that, too. “Pedro Pascal isn’t a good man, He’s a great man,” he said. “A dear friend of mine. As a 53-year-old, I’m acutely aware that every experience has a shelf life.”
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Sleep can be hard to come by these days. From city noise and snoring partners to late-night scrolling and spiraling thoughts, there’s a lot that can get in the way of a good night’s rest. In fact, research suggests that one in three adults doesn’t get enough sleep. (Hello, fellow insomniacs!) Luckily, you don’t have to accept exhaustion as your default—Ozlo Sleepbuds can help improve sleep hygiene sans habit-forming treatments or sleeping in separate rooms (aka ‘sleep divorce’).
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Succession star Kieran Culkin revealed that his wife, Jazz Charton, is pregnant with their third child, fulfilling a promise she made to him after he scooped up an Emmy last year. Culkin, 42, asked his wife for a third child during his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony in January 2024, and later doubled down on the bit by clamoring for a fourth while accepting an Oscar for his role in A Real Pain in March this year. Culkin quipped at the podium, “About a year ago, I was on a stage like this and I very stupidly, publicly said that I want a third kid from her because she said if I won the award, she would give me the kid.”He added, “Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith. No pressure, I love you, I’m really sorry I did this again, and let’s get cracking on those kids. What do you say?” Culkin appeared to quietly confirm the promise had been fulfilled while attending the theatre with his wife on Sunday, resting his hand on his Charton’s visible baby bulge as the pair posed for pictures on the red carpet.
A stowaway has been found dead inside the landing gear of an American Airlines plane that arrived in the U.S. from Europe. The unidentified person was discovered by ground staff during maintenance checks conducted on Sept. 28. The jet had traveled from Europe to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, North Carolina, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a statement. The force did not reveal where the deadly journey had originated. Responders were called following the discovery, and the person was pronounced dead at the scene. The department’s homicide unit has launched an investigation. American Airlines said it was cooperating with authorities, according to ABC. Meanwhile, Charlotte Douglas International said, “We are deeply saddened by this news and will support the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s investigation as needed. Airport operations continue as normal.” Hiding around the wheels of planes is a common tactic among stowaways, but it is fraught with danger. A lack of pressurization and sub-zero temperatures make the chances of survival remote, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.